From time to time we read about how badly our local hospital is doing ; no problem about that ! It is useful to receive outside 'assessments' and 'advice' if things remain persistently unsatisfactory or sub-standard. Curiously the criteria on which such observations are made are drawn up on certain 'factors' not necessarily more relevant to local consumers. One such measure happens to be how long a patient attending the hospital unannounced. needs to wait in the A & E dept. Fair enough - it is unacceptable for very sick people to wait on a trolley for hours - they must be admitted to an appropriate ward for treatment. This obviously means having an empty bed in the correct area. No point in admitting a patient with suspected heart attack in a psychiatric or ENT ward. Many people do not always understand that in real life, 'Holby City' does not exist - heart transplants are not carried out everywhere by any doctor!

Well the truth is - to achieve the best result and a correct diagnosis , the patient must be in the correct environment run by the correct staff for that illness. The result ! To satisfy the 'clerks' in Whitehall , whose job is to tick boxes, the hospital bed manager frantically runs around and places that 'waiting' patient anywhere. The real 'fun' begins then - inappropriate ward , nurses and doctors on that ward are not trained for such patients - therefore they remain under the correct team of doctors ( although no such 'team' s exist today - every one works for everybody - no continuity of care ) who will have to go around the whole hospital visiting virtually every ward to see his/her patients . Reports frequently go missing , nurses don't know their patients and most importantly the patients or their relatives do not know who the correct doctors are. The 'clerks' in Whitehall may not understand this -- as measuring inappropriate placements of patients would mean something and provide a much safer environment.

In old days we used to hear about winter pressure on our hospitals - cough cold chest infection fractures etc etc tended to fill up the hospitals - now the ''pressure'' on beds are evident all through the year. One very important reason for that is the steady reduction in the number of beds. It is very easy to howl that we should have more services in the community - that is fine- depending on what services we are talking about. You can't look after a 85 year old frail patient with chest infection and severe breathing difficulty needing oxygen and chest physio twice a day at home even if residing with younger relatives. And may I ask who will supervise their day to day complex medical care?

Of course no one should wait on a trolley for hours and hours, at the same time those who are already in, must be properly treated and sent home only when 'ready' . These days everything is topsy turvy -- the poor patients are getting forgotten under the burdens of regulations and virtually constant hammering by the Whitehall bosses.. Our hospitals are run by very dedicated and competent people - and most of the time they do an excellent job under great presure and in difficult circumstances. They should be left alone and allowed to get on with their job -- no more harassments and threats please....